Killing Me Softly
by Pink Flamingos Are Tacky
Summary: Set after A Dark Turn, Vaughn and Sydney join Jack in Panama to "lie low" and wait for Sark and Sloane to surface. Sark contacts Sydney, and she recieves a mission from the CIA that just might kill Vaughn...R/R! S/V or S/S
1. Chapter One

Killing Me Softly  
  
Kendall and my father were at it again, yelling at each other over the radio. Vaughn and I had just gotten back and we still had to find Weiss, but Weiss could wait, my father couldn't. I picked up a headset and got onto the radio with them.  
  
"What do you mean, you can't turn on the tracking device?" Kendall asked angrily.  
  
My father went silent and I knew he'd removed the tracer. Nice going, Dad.  
  
"You took it out, didn't you, Jack?" asked Kendall.  
  
"Yeah. She'll pull it off against Sloane, she'll kill him," my father defended my mother.  
  
"The point here, Jack, is that a CIA-custody terrorist is on the loose, again, with the Rambaldi documents, and she could be anywhere in Panama! Need I remind you that we have post-it notes instead? Plus, she's with Sark, Sark used to work for her. They could easily go back to wherever they have their base at. Jack, this is your fault."  
  
"You're blaming me? How was I supposed to know that she was going to take off with the Rambaldi documents?"  
  
"She's your ex-wife! You're supposed to be able to read her after thirty years!"  
  
This is getting old, really fast. Kendall's so annoying, even more so when he's right.  
  
"Can you just stop arguing?" I finally asked, annoyed. "We're just going to have to trust Mom on this one."  
  
"Miss Bristow, you're saying that we should trust Irina Derevko's judgment, and trust that she'll come back on her own?"  
  
"Yes," I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. "We should. She'll contact us eventually. We should just wait for that to happen."  
  
Kendall sat back up in his chair. "All right, we wait. Jack, come back on the next flight. See you at home."  
  
I wasn't asked again to search Vaughn's hard drive, thank goodness. I wasn't pulled back in for questioning either after Weiss and I made our discovery and tracked Vaughn. Still, it was a bit suspicious that they just dropped the investigation, but I didn't think much of it. Somehow though, I think that it just brought the three of us closer together, Vaughn and I together as a couple, more in love, and Weiss along with us, as friends.  
  
Kendall left the room, and so Vaughn and I were left alone. I sat down and blankly stared off into space.  
  
"You okay?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Yeah. It just blows my mind that my mother is with Sloane and Sark in Panama, with the Rambaldi documents. I don't know if I'm lying to myself when I say that she'll contact us, when really, she might not."  
  
"So when you told your dad and Kendall that your mom will contact us, you don't really believe it?"  
  
"I think that she will contact us, I really do, but then I remember who she is. I remember that she's Irina Derevko, the woman who abandoned my father and I, the woman who's lied about so much, the woman who." I didn't want to finish. I didn't want to say that my mother had murdered his father.  
  
"Murdered my father," Vaughn said quietly. "That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"  
  
"Vaughn, I."  
  
He smiled and wiped away the tears that I didn't even know were there. "Don't cry. I told you this earlier. It's not possible for us to have a relationship and not talk about our parents. It's going to come up, Syd, and we're going to be ready for it when it comes."  
  
Weiss stood behind Vaughn. "Uh.guys, I hate to break it to you, but there are other people in the room, and they're staring. Remember the little thingy called 'protocol,' remember?"  
  
I smiled. Leave it to Weiss to break the mood. I nodded and Vaughn stood completely up.  
  
"Do you guys want to go and get some lunch?" Vaughn asked, completely changing the subject.  
  
"I don't want to be a third wheel, Vaughn," Weiss said, trying to back out.  
  
"Come on. Weiss, are you embarrassed to be seen with us or something?" I joked. I knew he'd get defensive and decide to come with us. That was just Weiss.  
  
"No, of course I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you guys. I'm coming with. Where are we going?"  
  
I smiled. I had him. Vaughn smiled too. We had gotten Weiss right where we wanted him.  
  
"I don't know," said Vaughn. "Where do you want to go?"  
  
"Subway," I answered automatically.  
  
"Rabbit food?" Weiss asked in mock-disgust, wrinkling his nose. "How about the all-you-can-eat ribs joint that's like, a block away?"  
  
"No," Vaughn and I looked at each other. "I can't eat ribs with you again," said Vaughn with a laugh.  
  
"I feel a long story coming on," I said.  
  
"Yeah," said Vaughn. "It is a long story.  
  
"Tell me," I said, smiling.  
  
"Let's go," said Weiss, quickly. "If he starts now, we'll be dead before he's finished."  
  
"Yeah, I can't tell it that fast. Weiss will interrupt so much that the story will be even longer."  
  
We drove a little ways out to Subway and got our food. After we sat down in a booth and ate, Vaughn grabbed my hand under the table and our eyes met. Weiss sat across the table and faced us.  
  
"Vaughn, spill," said Weiss with a grin.  
  
"Uh." he shifted in his seat.  
  
"Come on," I said. "You promised you'd tell me."  
  
"All right. A couple of years ago, I had a girlfriend."  
  
"A blonde girlfriend," said Weiss.  
  
"And we went on a double date with Weiss and his girlfriend."  
  
"Somehow, I can't picture Weiss with a girlfriend," I said teasingly.  
  
"Well, I did have a girlfriend," he said, getting defensive.  
  
"Anyway," Vaughn continued. "I was on a double date with."  
  
"Another one of his blonde girlfriends," interrupted Weiss.  
  
"And Weiss and his girlfriend and we were having dinner. We were at this rib place and we had just gotten the sauce for the ribs and we were passing it around the table. I asked Weiss to hand the sauce to me, and he ended up spilling the whole bowl, pitcher, whatever it was, all over my lap. I had on khakis too. My date laughed so hard."  
  
Weiss smiled. Obviously, this was a great memory. I could just picture Vaughn with barbecue sauce all over his pants, on a date, and Weiss laughing at him.  
  
"The moral of the story here is that you never go on a double date, to a rib joint, with Weiss, unless you want to break up with your girlfriend," Vaughn finished.  
  
Weiss smiled. "And she did break up with him, the very next day."  
  
"So let me get this straight, we went out to lunch so that you could tell me this "long" story, that really wasn't that long at all, about Vaughn's blonde ex-girlfriend and some barbecue sauce."  
  
"Yup," said Weiss with a smile.  
  
"Want to go for a walk?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Sure," I smiled.  
  
"Yeah," said Weiss. "Where are we walking to?"  
  
Vaughn looked at Weiss, practically saying, "take a hint."  
  
"Syd, meet me outside, will you?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Sure," I nodded. He needed to talk to Weiss. I left the building and sat on the warm bench outside, enjoying the nice LA day.  
  
A few minutes later, Vaughn pulled me up from the bench and we walked down the busy street.  
  
"You know, if we hadn't destroyed SD-6, we'd never be able to do this," he said, lightening the mood.  
  
"Yeah. We're free," I agreed. "But won't Kendall want us back at the Ops Center?"  
  
"Yeah, but as long as he doesn't call," he kissed me. "We're free."  
  
He kissed me again, and this time, it lasted longer.  
  
"I love you," he said as we sat down on a bench in the sun.  
  
"I know," I smiled.  
  
"No, you know how to ruin a moment," he said with a grin.  
  
"You know, isn't this the part where someone either shows up and threatens to hurt us or someone we love, or someone calls us and needs us in the office?" he asked with a smile.  
  
"Don't say that," I leaned in for another kiss. "It just might happen."  
  
Vaughn's cell phone rang just as our lips met.  
  
"See?" I asked. "You jinxed us."  
  
He held up one finger, telling me to wait a minute. "Vaughn," he answered the annoying electronic object.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, you and Agent Bristow need to get in here immediately. We're sending you to Panama, and it's not for a vacation," I heard Kendall's voice.  
  
"I'm with her now. We'll be right there."  
  
Weiss pulled up in the car and motioned for us to get in.  
  
"So, you're going to Panama?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," I said. "Which makes no sense, if my father's coming back. The only reason that we'd be going would be to help my mother, if she's made contact, or been spotted."  
  
"Think about it though, Syd. We could have Sloane," said Vaughn.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Weiss. "Then we could all maybe get a good night's sleep for a change."  
  
"Yeah," I leaned against Vaughn, who was sitting next to me. He put a quick hiss on my forehead as Weiss parked.  
  
"Come on," he said. "Look on the bright side, we're getting a mini- vacation."  
  
"Yeah," I smiled. "I guess."  
  
"You guess? Syd, this is Panama."  
  
We entered the building and headed for the conference room.  
  
"Change of plans," said Kendall as we entered the room. "Jack's staying in Panama. Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn, you two are joining him."  
  
I nodded. "Any new Intel? Did my mother make contact? What happened? Why are we off to Panama all of a sudden?"  
  
If Kendall was surprised by all of my questions, he surely ignored it. "Your father called. He wants the two of you with him."  
  
Vaughn looked at me suspiciously. I shrugged in response.  
  
"All right," said Vaughn. "We'll go."  
  
Kendall tossed us each a folder. "You are Amy and Matthew Marshall, newly married, new money, vacationing in Panama. You're going to be in a resort hotel. Lie low for awhile."  
  
"Lie low?" Vaughn asked. "As in stay put until we find Sloane or he moves?" "In the meantime, yes. Miss Bristow, Mr. Vaughn, consider yourselves on vacation." 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
***Panama***  
  
Vaughn and I were in Panama, in our huge resort room. I had just put on my new bathing suit; a pair of jean shorts over it and flipped my sunglasses down over my eyes. I then put in the earpiece that Marshall had given me before we left and headed down to the pool.  
  
"You can join me if you want," I called to Vaughn in my new touristy accent.  
  
Vaughn just smiled as he turned on the TV. Golf. Figures, I take second place on the importance chart, and I lose to a stupid game where you swing the stick and hit the little round thing, and then chase it all over the course. I feel special.  
  
I leaned back and let the warm sun cast a glow on my face. I read a magazine that I had grabbed from the room and occasionally looked up, scanning the pool area with my eyes.  
  
"I see you," Weiss's voice in my ear almost made me jump.  
  
"Oh really?" I asked with an amused grin.  
  
"Yeah, our satellite is monitoring you, in the event that Sloane finds you and Vaughn."  
  
"And so you're spying on me?"  
  
"Of course." Typical Weiss.  
  
My cell phone rang. I hoped it was Vaughn.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"I see you, Miss Bristow." I didn't have to ask who it was.  
  
"Sark. What did I do to deserve this lovely phone call?"  
  
"You came to Panama. Your father came to Panama. Mr. Vaughn came to Panama."  
  
Great, so Sloane knows that we're all here. Thrilling.  
  
"I'd like to arrange a meeting to purchase the remainder of the Rambaldi documents."  
  
Remainder of the Rambaldi documents? My mother took all of the Rambaldi documents. We got post-it notes. What would my mother have fed Sloane to make him think that we have more documents that we're holding back on?  
  
I pick option a: lie and pretend that you know what you're talking about.  
  
"What's in it for me?" I asked. "I mean, we're not just going to hand over our Rambaldi papers to two of the world's most wanted terrorists."  
  
"Good point," his cocky, self-assured British accent comes over the phone. "We'll meet you at your hotel to discuss what might be an incentive to hand over the Rambaldi papers."  
  
"We?" I asked.  
  
"Your mother and myself. I have set up a conference room for you, and you alone, not your father, not Mr. Vaughn, you."  
  
"All right," I said hesitantly. I wasn't sure that I wanted to face my mother and Sark alone, but I was willing to do it.  
  
"One-thirty, Miss Bristow. Come alone, and don't bother bringing the manuscripts. We don't need them, yet." He hung up.  
  
"Weiss?" I asked slowly, seeing if he was still there.  
  
"Syd? Are you all right?" his voice came through the radio, faint at first, but gradually louder.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"  
  
"You went dead all of a sudden. Our satellite was shut down too."  
  
I sighed. Sark had cut off all of the CIA's communications.  
  
"Sark called." Weiss's line went silent, so I continued. "I'm meeting both him and my mother in a conference room at one-thirty. Could you hack the security cameras?" I left out the part about the Rambaldi documents.  
  
"You got it, Syd. Marshall and I will get right on it."  
  
"Thanks. You're the best."  
  
"I know. Give my best to Vaughn."  
  
I looked up into the sky and just waved. I knew that wherever the satellite was, it'd pick up on me waving.  
  
"Real funny, Syd," said Weiss.  
  
"I'm going to go back upstairs. I feel like I'm being watched out here, not to mention that I look like I'm talking to myself."  
  
"Okay. See you, Syd. Good luck."  
  
I heard the click of Weiss disconnecting as I retreated to our room.  
  
Vaughn was still in the same spot that I had left him in; on the bed, watching the stupid sport called golf.  
  
"I'm meeting Sark in two hours," I said simply, tossing my magazine on the nightstand.  
  
"That's nice," Vaughn said absentmindedly, tossing some popcorn into his mouth. "Wait- what did you say?" I had his attention now.  
  
"I said that I'm meeting Sark, and my mother in a conference room downstairs in two hours."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"My mother told Sloane that we still have more of the Rambaldi papers, that she couldn't get all of them. Sark wants to buy them."  
  
"We don't have any of the documents that they want."  
  
"I know. Hopefully my mother can explain herself."  
  
"I hope so, Syd, because we have nothing to give them, nothing to bait Sloane out of hiding. I hope so."  
  
***  
  
I knocked on the door to Conference Room B, and the door was opened by one of Sark's guards, or so I thought. I saw my mother, now a blonde, sitting across from Sark, who was now a brunette.  
  
Sark motioned for me to sit down, and I did so, looking at the video camera watching us on the wall. I looked to the table and saw my missing bug killer, the one that I had "lost" before my mother had left. I guess that she was the one who took it.  
  
"I looped the camera," said Sark, reading my mind.  
  
"Syd, it's looped," Weiss's voice came into my ear.  
  
My mother kicked me, hard under the table and slipped an envelope into my lap.  
  
"What do you want, Sark?"  
  
"Mr. Sloane, unfortunately, will be unable to join us for security reasons."  
  
No, really, I had expected him to show up here to negotiate the terms himself. I kept my mouth shut and nodded.  
  
"Basically, what it comes down to, Miss Bristow, is that you have one crucial Rambaldi document, one that we need."  
  
"What would you give me for it?" I decided to pretend that I knew what he was talking about.  
  
"I would return to CIA custody," said my mother.  
  
"No deal. You'd have done what you set out to do, and the CIA no longer trusts you."  
  
"All right," Sark looked like he had just lost a major battle in a war. "What if I told you that Mr. Vaughn's life would be in danger if you didn't cooperate and sell us the document."  
  
I froze. "What kind of danger?"  
  
Sark smirked. "Death, torture."  
  
"I don't know. How long do I have to consider it?"  
  
"Forty-eight hours. We will contact you then."  
  
They stood and left, leaving me alone in the empty room.  
  
"Hey," I forced a smiled for Vaughn when I entered our hotel room.  
  
"Hi. How'd everything go?" he looked worried.  
  
"Fine," I opened the envelope that my mother had slipped into my lap. Inside was a page from the Rambaldi manuscript that she had taken- and a letter. I held the piece of paper in my hand, debating whether to unfold it and read it, or not. Reading it won.  
  
"Sydney," it read. "Here is a piece of the document that I stole. Keep it from Sark and Sloane. I am still on your side, regardless of what Kendall thinks. Stay safe, Mom."  
  
She's still on my side? Do I believe her? Do I believe that she'll come back to the CIA? Do I believe that she'll kill Sloane?  
  
My cell phone rang. I debated answering the annoying little electronic piece of crap, or letting it go into voicemail. I answered it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Miss Bristow?" It's Kendall. I decide to be annoying, shake him up a little bit.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. This is Michael Vaughn."  
  
"Very amusing, Miss Bristow. Agent Weiss has informed me of your meeting with Derevko and Sark. Tell Agent Vaughn to pull out."  
  
"Kendall, I have the paper that they want."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My mother gave me the paper. I have it. She told me to keep it from Sloane and Sark."  
  
"As in, we're supposed to believe Derevko?"  
  
"I think we should."  
  
"Miss Bristow, your mother had her tracking device removed, she escaped CIA custody, and is now with Arvin Sloane. I want Agent Vaughn out of Panama in twelve hours. I also want him back in the office, or else it will be you in that cell in the Ops Center, and not Irina Derevko. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes. Do you want me to sell the paper to Sark?" Stupid question.  
  
"Of course not. When is he contacting you?"  
  
"Forty-eight hours."  
  
"Put Agent Vaughn on the next plane home, and don't sell the document. If he's not back in twelve hours, it'll be your head, Miss Bristow." He hung up.  
  
"Vaughn, you're to be back in LA in twelve hours, or I'm taking my mother's place in her cell at the Ops Center."  
  
"Why? Did something happen?"  
  
"My mother gave me one of the papers to the Rambaldi document that she stole. It's the paper that Sloane and Sark want. The deal is that we wither sell them the paper, or your life is at stake."  
  
"What kind of "at stake?" They're going to kill me? What is it, Syd?"  
  
"Sark said torture, death, I don't really know," I shook my head.  
  
"And Kendall wants me back in LA? That'll blow our cover, though." He pulled out his cell phone.  
  
"Don't," I stopped him. "Just go," I kissed him.  
  
"Syd, you can't stay here alone," he protested.  
  
"Vaughn, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." I smiled. "You don't have to stay just to take care of me."  
  
"But our cover."  
  
"I'll just say that my husband had to leave on a business trip and I'm staying until he comes back, if anyone asks."  
  
"Syd, I."  
  
"Vaughn, I'll be fine," I gently pressed his ticket into his hand. He picked up his suitcase that he hadn't even unpacked.  
  
"You're sure you'll be all right?"  
  
"Vaughn.Michael, I'll be fine," I kissed him. "Go, Kendall's waiting."  
  
I watched as he disappeared into the elevator and the doors shut behind him. I'd be all right alone, wouldn't I?  
  
***  
  
Sark POV  
  
I headed to go find Sloane. We now had all the information that we needed, thanks to the bug that we had placed in Sydney's room. Why was I even referring to her as Sydney? She's Agent Bristow, I reminded myself. Agent Bristow had the papers, Agent Vaughn was out of the way, and Irina was ours. I must say, bugging the room was an excellent idea.  
  
"Mr. Sloane," I stood in the doorway as Sloane looked over the documents.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Sark?" My, my, aren't we formal. Usually, I'm just Sark, or he doesn't even bother to refer to me by name.  
  
"The bug successfully worked. Agent Michael Vaughn, Sydney Bristow's handler, is back on his way to LA. She is alone." There I go again, referring to her by her first name. Oh well, at least her last name was included on this one. It's not like I have some sort of obsession with her.  
  
"Let him go back to the CIA. We have no use for him, yet. Arrange the second meeting. Make her believe that we have Mr. Vaughn."  
  
"Yes, sir," I said, backing out of the room. This was going to be more fun than I thought. Arrange the second meeting with Sydney.this should be interesting. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
Sark POV  
  
Panama  
  
There she is, right where she said she'd be. Right on time, too, I realized as I checked my watch. I stood behind her, just waiting for her to notice me.  
  
"Where is my mother?" she asked without turning around. Damn, she's good. Right to the point and everything. I guess that's why Sloane refers to her as his "brightest accomplishment" or something like that.  
  
"She's with Mr. Sloane," I said simply. "May I sit down?"  
  
She shrugged her shoulders, which I took to mean a yes, and I sat down across from her.  
  
"Fifty thousand," I said, motioning to the suitcase. I was testing her, baiting her to see what she'd say.  
  
"I don't think that I want to give this up," she said, placing her hand on the envelope.  
  
"Not even for your boyfriend's life?" Smirk, I know I'm getting to her, I know it.  
  
"No," she shrugged. "He's not my boyfriend, anyway."  
  
Wait; forty-eight hours ago, they were all lovey-dovey in the hotel room, she was seeing him off to the plane. Now, she doesn't even care that I could kill him.  
  
What game is she playing anyway?  
  
"Maybe you should think about what you're saying, Miss Bristow. You're basically handing Agent Vaughn to Mr. Sloane."  
  
"It doesn't matter. He never really did care about me anyway."  
  
"I'll give you another twenty-four hours to think on this, Sydney. You're handing your boyfriend to Sloane, a very stupid mistake altogether. Although, it may be too late now, Mr. Sloane may already have him."  
  
Her eyes flash. Not only did I just call her Sydney, her first name, I also scared her, scared her that Agent Vaughn just might not be okay. I am good.I truly am good.  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
My cell phone rang. Didn't Kendall realize that I was a little busy? I was on my way to meet Sark.  
  
"Hello?" I answered my phone.  
  
"Miss Bristow, you're on your way to meet Sark, I hope."  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"You have a new assignment. Your mission is to hold the Rambaldi documents as long as possible. You will also be able to find Sloane."  
  
I'll be able to find Sloane? This doesn't sound good.  
  
"Your assignment is to get close to Sark."  
  
"What?" I hoped that I hadn't heard him right, that I hadn't heard him say 'get close to Sark.'  
  
"You will get close to Mr. Sark, and through him, we will find Sloane."  
  
There is no way that I was going to get close to Sark. I hated the man's guts. I hate everything about him.  
  
"What if I say no?"  
  
"Don't go there, Miss Bristow," he hung up on me.  
  
Great, I thought as I parked. I now had to get close to Sark. What would I tell Vaughn? He'll hate this.  
  
I sat down at a small table to wait for Sark. I felt someone behind me and I figured that it was him.  
  
"Where is my mother?" I asked without turning around.  
  
"She's with Mr. Sloane." Great, the one person that I need here is back in hiding. "May I sit down?" he asked.  
  
Nope. You can't. I have no desire to be seated across from the British, cocky, son of a bitch. I just shrugged. I couldn't say what I really want to say. He sat down across from me. Let's just get this over with.  
  
"Fifty thousand," he said, motioning to the suitcase.  
  
"I don't think that I want to give this up," I placed my hand on the envelope that held the Rambaldi document.  
  
"Not even for your boyfriend's life?" he was smirking now, trying to get me to react.  
  
"No," I shrugged. I had to act like I didn't care too much about Vaughn. "He's not my boyfriend anyway."  
  
"Maybe you should think about what you're saying, Miss Bristow. You're basically handing Agent Vaughn to Mr. Sloane."  
  
Maybe I should think about this. I'm handing Vaughn to Sloane and I'm going to go through with the mission. Am I nuts?  
  
"It doesn't matter. He never really cared about me anyway."  
  
"I'll give you another twenty-four hours to think on this, Sydney. You're handing your boyfriend to Sloane, a very stupid mistake altogether. Although, it may be too late now, Mr. Sloane may already have him."  
  
My eyes flashed. Maybe he was bluffing. Was he lying, trying to scare me into something? Maybe I should try moving into my assignment.  
  
"Why are you even working for Sloane?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"It does. I don't know that much about you."  
  
He eyebrows rose. "If I didn't know any better, Miss Bristow, I'd think that we were on a date."  
  
"Why would you think that? Maybe I just wanted to know more about my rival, so to speak."  
  
"Mr. Sloane promised to show me great things. It's more than you'd see being a free agent and a hired assassin."  
  
"How many people have you killed?"  
  
"What is this, an interrogation? Or an interview?"  
  
Of course. It's the CIA Interview Hour, where we interview wanted criminals.  
  
"I'm just curious."  
  
"Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Bristow."  
  
"Asking innocent questions never hurt anyone."  
  
"Somehow, Miss Bristow, your questions don't exactly seem innocent."  
  
He knows me so well that it scares me. This won't work if he discovers what my real intentions are.  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"I'll tell you the answer to your question, if you'll answer two of my questions."  
  
Should I answer them? Why not, what can he ask that would hurt me?  
  
"Sure. Ask away."  
  
"Fine. I have no earthly idea how many people that I've killed. I'm sure though that if I had kept count, the number would amaze you as well as me."  
  
I nodded. Not a straight answer, but then again, I hadn't expected one.  
  
"My turn. Where was Irina Derevko held in Los Angeles?"  
  
I thought. Do I lie? Do I tell the truth?  
  
"A CIA base."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"In LA."  
  
I gave the same closed answer that he usually gives me.  
  
He nodded, accepting my answer. "All right." He stood up. "I'll save my second question for when we meet again."  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "When we meet again?"  
  
"Of course. Will you join me for dinner tomorrow?"  
  
Is this an invitation? Dinner with Sark? I'll commit suicide before I dine with Mr. Sark.  
  
"Sure," I force a smile and say. "But I'm going back to LA tomorrow."  
  
"Then I'll find you in LA, I promise." He ducked into the crowd. If I was going to dinner with my archenemy, and I supposedly didn't want to go, then why was I doing this.and why wasn't I dreading it?  
  
***  
  
I wanted to kill Kendall. Sark was going to find me tonight, and hopefully, he wasn't going to jump me in an alleyway or show up in my house.  
  
I really need to get a new job. Give up my obsession, (if that's what you'd call it,) of finding Sloane and killing him, making him pay for everything he's done, and quit the CIA, especially if it means more work with Sark.  
  
"Hey," I hopped up onto Vaughn's desk and sat next to his computer.  
  
"Hey," he said, looking up from whatever he was working on.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
  
"Writing a report for Kendall. He wants me to write up what happened in Panama."  
  
"So what are you going to write? That you sat in the room watching golf while I sunbathed and talked to Weiss? We should frame that report."  
  
He smiled. "Nah, just basically saying that you managed to make contact with Sark and met with him and your mother, alone. Another boring, Kendall- approved paper."  
  
"Yeah, Kendall-approved paper. Listen, Vaughn."  
  
He caught the worry in my voice. "What?"  
  
"Kendall's put me on a mission."  
  
"Yeah? You're a field agent," he smiled and went back to typing. "Field agents go on missions, Syd."  
  
"Yeah, but this is different. Kendall assigned me to.get close to Sark."  
  
He stopped typing. "You can't be serious."  
  
"I am. I'm.I'm meeting him, tonight."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Oh my God, Syd."  
  
"Vaughn.I."  
  
He smiled, and lowered his voice. "I'd kiss you, but Kendall's over there somewhere. Just be careful, all right? You have a reason now to come back from missions, and it's not SD-6 anymore."  
  
I nodded. "I will." I stood up. "I've got a meeting, but I'll find you later. Are you sure that you're all right with this?"  
  
"Of course. I'll see you later."  
  
I smiled, and headed back to my desk.  
  
***  
  
I moved toward the briefing room a few hours later and overheard Vaughn, Dad, and Kendall all talking.  
  
"What were you thinking?" My dad sounded ready to bit Kendall's head off.  
  
"You told her to get close to Sloane's right-hand assassin. She'll be turned over to Sloane and killed. We'll never see Derevko again."  
  
"Agent Vaughn, we probably won't see Derevko again. As for Miss Bristow, I think you need to review protocol again, you know, the rule that clearly states that no handler is to get "emotionally" attached to their agent."  
  
"Kendall," Vaughn was getting defensive. Don't spill, I prayed. "I am in no way, shape, or form attached to Agent Bristow. I care about her as an agent, and as a person. Nothing more."  
  
"Kendall, I am concerned for my daughter's safety, as is Agent Vaughn. She shouldn't be anywhere near Sark and Sloane. We can't afford to lose her as an agent."  
  
"She knows what she's getting into. She's fine with it," said Kendall.  
  
I debated on whether to come around the corner.  
  
"Am I fine with it?" I asked. "What if I said that I'm terrified of how Sark might find me tonight, or that Sloane will find out my mother's true intent and kill her before I get a chance to see her again?"  
  
"Sydney." my dad started. "Your mother."  
  
"Forget it," I said simply. "I'm not abandoning my mission. I will meet Sark tonight, and I will eventually get Sloane. You watch." I headed back the way that I had come and abandoned the idea of going to the meeting. I was going home. Home to think, and maybe talk to Will.  
  
***  
  
I fell onto the couch and fought to stay awake. My eyes closed and I heard the door open.  
  
"Syd?" It was Will. "What are you doing home? How was your trip?"  
  
"It was.eventful."  
  
"Sark?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
He sat down. "Syd, what happened?"  
  
"Well, I was with Vaughn."  
  
"Who else?" he grinned.  
  
"Yeah," I smiled. "We were chasing after Sloane, Sark, and my mother, and I had gone out to the pool and was talking to Eric Weiss. He's CIA too, he works with me and Vaughn, but anyway, Sark called.anyway, long story short, my assignment is to.is to get close to Sark."  
  
Will was silent, but finally spoke. "How.close?"  
  
"Close enough to get Intel on where Sloane is at any given time, to eventually eliminate him."  
  
"Syd," he enveloped me in a hug and I smiled. Will was great, but naïve. He just didn't know was it was like to be a field agent, or in this case, get close to the man that you hate. He understands more than Francie does though, so at least I have someone to talk to.  
  
"Syd, I know that we should be thinking about your problems, but.have you noticed anything.well, different.about.."  
  
"Hey, Will?" Francie's voice filled the air.  
  
"Hey Fran!" he called, getting up from the couch.  
  
"Syd, what are you doing home so early?"  
  
"I've.got a meeting for the bank tonight. I got off early because of it," I always felt bad about lying to Francie. My cell phone rang. I held up one finger, telling them to wait a minute.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Agent Bristow." Sark. He just doesn't give up.  
  
"Where should I meet you tonight?" I asked, walking into my bedroom. "Depends. Where do you want me to pick you up?" Somehow, I find that I don't want Sark at my house.  
  
"Pick a restaurant, Sark. I'll meet you there," I said, dropping my voice.  
  
"Oh, but I'd much rather see where the lovely Agent Bristow lives."  
  
I'll bet you would. Yeah right. He just loves trying to get to me.  
  
"But I'd much rather meet you at a restaurant."  
  
Call waiting beeps in. Vaughn. I can't talk to him right now.  
  
"Hold on, I've got another call."  
  
"Hello?" I ask as I answer the other call. Why did I bother answering anyway? Oh yeah, because it's Vaughn.  
  
"Hey," I heard his voice on the other end. "Listen, about today."  
  
"Vaughn, don't mention it, really. I don't want to think about Sark any more than absolutely necessary."  
  
"Yeah. Do you want to go out." Please not tonight, oh please don't say tonight. ".Tomorrow night?"  
  
I smiled. "Sure, I'd love to. I've got to go though, I've got a call on the other line."  
  
"All right, Syd?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"When I went to Kendall, I was doing it for you."  
  
"I know. I really have to go."  
  
"All right. Love you."  
  
"I know. Bye."  
  
"All right, I'm back."  
  
"Your boyfriend on the other line?"  
  
"No. My boss," I lied.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I'm serious."  
  
"Whatever. I'll pick you up at eight, at your house." He hung up. Oh great. He was coming to my house. This day couldn't get any worse. Well, it could, but I hoped that this was as bad as it would get.  
  
"Syd?" Will stuck his head in the door.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Where's Francie?" I changed the subject.  
  
"Had to go back to the restaurant. She forgot something here, which brings me back to my earlier question. Does Francie seem like she's acting weird to you?"  
  
I thought about it. She seemed all right. She still thought that I should quit my job, and I agree now. I just thought that the reason that we hadn't talked as much was because I had been busy, with both the CIA.and Vaughn.  
  
"Sort of, I mean, she seems kind of distant, but I thought that it was just because I haven't talked to her that much recently, I mean our girl chats. I've just been busy with the takedown.and Sloane."  
  
"She just seems different. Maybe it's just me though."  
  
"Yeah, but Will, when you go from a friendship to a romantic relationship, things change." Who was I to be giving people relationship advice? Every man that I truly loved got killed.  
  
"Yeah, it's probably just me who's acting weird."  
  
"You're always weird, Will," I said, laughing.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he smiled. "Have fun tonight."  
  
"With Sark? Always fun."  
  
He smiled. "See you later." He shut the door and I was left alone.  
  
Somehow I had never thought about it that much, Francie acting different, that is. She had been acting odd. I had tried talking to her about Will, but she just sort of clammed up. I wonder what's wrong.  
  
I dug through my closet, searching for something to wear. I didn't want to get too dressed up, because for all I knew, he was taking me to Burger King. That was a scary thought, Sark coming to my house. Ugh.  
  
I finally decided on black jeans and one of my many tops. I brushed out my hair, gave it a slight curl, and applied a light touch of makeup.  
  
I opened the door and Will looked up from where he was sitting on the couch.  
  
"Wow," he said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You look great."  
  
"Thanks. It's just jeans."  
  
"I know, but you still look great."  
  
It was almost eight 'o clock. When Francie had said that I was home early, she meant that I was home before eight.  
  
The doorbell rang. Will looked at me. I stood up and answered it. It was Sark, as I had predicted.  
  
"Hi," I said, grabbing my purse from the table next to the door. What was I doing? Sark was hardly worthy of a "hi."  
  
"Will! I'll be back later! Ask Francie if she wants to play a game when I get back!"  
  
"All right, will do!" he called back over the TV. I shut the door and followed Sark to the car. The sun was just beginning to set, and it would have been very romantic, if this had been a date with Vaughn.  
  
"So, where are we off to?" I asked.  
  
"It's a surprise."  
  
Great, a surprise dinner with Sark. How pleasant.  
  
He finally stopped the car in front of a small café and we got out. We were escorted to a small table outside in the back of the restaurant. A waiter took our orders.  
  
"So where's the bug, or the security camera? Or better yet, where's Sloane?" I asked.  
  
"Sloane doesn't know. If Sloane did know, I would have to turn you in to him. He doesn't have to know, and as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have to know. As far as he knows, I have the week off. He doesn't think that I can negotiate terms on my own."  
  
Sloane can go a week without his lapdog? Oh yeah, he's got my mother instead. Trade Sark for my mother.  
  
I smiled. "Oh really?"  
  
"Yes, Miss Bristow."  
  
I held my breath as I opened my mouth to respond. "You can call me Sydney, you know." I said it as if it was obvious.  
  
"All right, Sydney," he said, testing it out.  
  
We ate, making small conversation and having a good time. Here I was, having a good time with Sark. What was wrong with this picture?  
  
We stood to leave and he asked, "Do you want to go for a walk?"  
  
I nodded. "Sure, why not?"  
  
We stood up to leave and I heard a gun click behind us and a familiar voice. "Freeze. Toss your gun to the ground and get down on your knees." I shifted me eyes and saw who was behind us. It was Vaughn, my dad, and a team of CIA Agents. Could this day get any worse? What were they doing here, and how did they find us? Nope, I thought, probably not.  
  
Authors Notes: I apologize to all of the Syd/Sark fans that were expecting to see a lot of Syd/Sark in this chapter. It will happen, I can almost promise that there will be a lot more Syd/Sark interaction. As for the Syd/Vaughn fans, (including my editor) I apologize for not having enough Syd/Vaughn action. Like I mentioned to Screen Names Are Tacky at the beginning, things are just getting going and I probably have a long way to go until the end. Please review, it only makes me write faster! 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
I stayed on my knees long after I heard the guns click. Sark's eyes flashed dangerously at me, and I became worried, worried that my father and Vaughn just might become his next assassination targets. Well, Kendall, you got your wish. You got Sark, your way, as usual.  
  
I saw him mutter something and saw his cell phone blink. He was probably calling out to Sloane.  
  
Vaughn helped me up and squeezed my hand. I wanted to kiss him, but there was that whole little Sark- and my dad problem. I smiled as the team aimed their guns at Sark.  
  
Suddenly, a burst of flames engulfed a building down the street. Sark must have gotten through, and the agents ducked as the wind blew, tossing flames to other buildings.  
  
A black van came quickly and Sark jumped inside. That was the last I saw of him.  
  
"You all right?" asked Vaughn as firefighters doused the flames.  
  
"Yeah," I smiled, and he leaned down to kiss me.  
  
"I almost had him, you know," I said with a small smile.  
  
"Yeah, but aren't you glad we helped?"  
  
"Yeah," I said, kissing him again. "I am."  
  
***  
  
The next night, Vaughn and I opted to go out.  
  
"It's a surprise," he said, helping me into the car and blindfolding me.  
  
"I don't think I can take any more surprises," I smiled.  
  
"He stopped the car and helped me out.  
  
"Okay, three stairs here," he guided me. I felt myself be led into an elevator and go up.  
  
"Vaughn? What's happening?" I smiled as he kissed me.  
  
"Shh, we're almost there."  
  
He opened the door to a room. "We're here." He took off the blindfold. I smiled. I was in Vaughn's apartment.  
  
I looked ahead of me and saw a table, set with candles and a tablecloth.  
  
"Oh. . .my. . .God!" I couldn't help myself. I kissed Vaughn.  
  
"What was that for?"  
  
"I just felt like it."  
  
"Well, don't thank me yet. Just wait until later."  
  
He brought out the food as I sat down. Spaghetti. Easy, and yet romantic, very romantic.  
  
"Spaghetti," I commented.  
  
"Is it all right?"  
  
"Of course. Everything's perfect." A perfect night, with Vaughn, and no thinking about Sark, or contact with Sark, for that matter. Oh wait, I just did. I thought about Sark.  
  
We started to eat, and I just couldn't say anything. I couldn't do anything besides stare at him.  
  
"What? Do I have something on my face?"  
  
"No," I smiled. "You're perfect." This was probably our best date yet. He was so cute, and the fact that he had made dinner on his own was fantastic.  
  
"It was fabulous," I said when we'd finished.  
  
"It's not over yet," he ducked into the kitchen.  
  
A few moments later, he returned with two sundaes, topped with heaps of whipped cream, fudge sauce and finally, a cherry.  
  
"Here you go," he said, placing the sundae in front of me and giving me a quick kiss before sitting down across from me.  
  
I put the first spoonful into my mouth, and after the whipped cream dissolved, I felt something hard in my mouth and I knew that it wasn't the pit of the cherry. I spit out the hard thing and saw what it was- a ring.  
  
"I'm not proposing," he said, choosing his words carefully, "but I do want to continue seeing you, with the intention of marrying you someday. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not proposing- yet. I do want to give this ring to you," he said as he slipped it on my finger. "It was my grandmother's."  
  
It was a small, very small diamond. I loved it. "It's beautiful," I said.  
  
"It is," he agreed. "That's why I'm giving it to you. Syd, I love you."  
  
"I love you too," I smiled.  
  
He took away the empty dishes and I moved to the couch, sitting in front of the TV. This night was perfect, Vaughn and I, just the two of us.  
  
"Hey," he sat down and put his arm around me. I scooted closer and he kissed my forehead.  
  
"I love you," I said.  
  
"I know," he smiled, using my usual phrase.  
  
I closed my eyes and started to drift off. I felt Vaughn wrap his arms around me protectively and I leaned against him. God, how I love him, I thought as I drifted off into darkness.  
  
***  
  
I awoke when I heard Vaughn stir beside me and get up, covering me with a blanket. After I heard him go into the kitchen, I opened my eyes and wrapped myself in the blanket. I heard Vaughn's cell phone ring and he put it on speakerphone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Agent Vaughn, have you seen Agent Bristow?"  
  
"No, I haven't, why?"  
  
"Her father called her house and Will said that she hadn't come home. Are you sure that you haven't seen her?"  
  
I really need to call Will more often, give him an excuse to feed Kendall.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure.  
  
"All right. I want you in here in an hour."  
  
"All right. I'll be there." He hung up.  
  
My cell phone went off next. "Hello?"  
  
"Sydney, where are you?" It was my dad.  
  
I desperately tried to come up with an answer.  
  
"You're with Vaughn, aren't you?"  
  
I stayed silent, trying to find an answer.  
  
"Sydney, you are at Vaughn's, aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"All right. I'll go by your house and pick you up some clean clothes. Do you want me to have Francie put something in a bag for you?"  
  
"Yeah. Have her grab a skirt and a sweater out of the closet. Tell her to pack a hairbrush and a toothbrush for me too."  
  
"Sydney, do I even want to know what you're doing at Vaughn's house?"  
  
No, you really don't. I'm serious.  
  
"He invited me over for dinner," I looked at my ring finger to make sure that it hadn't been a dream. "We fell asleep on the couch."  
  
"We can talk about this later."  
  
"What is there to talk about?" I asked, but he had already hung up.  
  
"You awake?" Vaughn stuck his head back in the room.  
  
I looked up and smiled. "Yeah. My dad called. He knows."  
  
"Better him than Kendall. Come on. I've got a surprise."  
  
Vaughn had made bacon and eggs.  
  
"Oh my God," I said as I saw the table.  
  
"When's your dad coming?"  
  
"I'd say in a half hour."  
  
"All right. Eat," he prodded me.  
  
"There isn't anything hidden in the food?"  
  
"He smiled. "No, I promise."  
  
Just a half hour later, as my dad had said, he rang the doorbell. Vaughn answered it.  
  
I hugged my father and he handed me the bag. I opened it and looked inside. My hairbrush and toothbrush were inside, along with a pair of black pants and the matching jacket. There was also a purple shirt and some hair stuff.  
  
"You can go and use my shower if you want," Vaughn offered.  
  
"Thanks," I said.  
  
"How long are you going to take, Sydney?"  
  
"Vaughn can drive me, like he does every day," I said, knowing where this was going.  
  
"No, I'll take you. We need to talk anyway."  
  
"It's fine, Syd. I'm going to get changed and go. I'll meet you there," he said, kissing me.  
  
I shut the bathroom door and turned on the water. Stepping in, I let the warm water fall over my body as I thought.  
  
Sure, we couldn't keep it a secret forever, but my dad guessed so easily. Was it that obvious to people, and would more people figure it out as time went on? And what would happen when and hopefully, just if Kendall found out?  
  
I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. I brushed my hair into a ponytail and smoothed out my jacket. I opened the door and slipped on my shoes. My father sat on the couch, staring at the wall. I silently followed him to the car and got in.  
  
"What are you thinking?" he asked as he started the car. "Sydney, if you're found out. . ."  
  
"I know, you don't have to go into details. We're being careful."  
  
"Sydney," he stopped as he noticed the ring on my finger.  
  
I looked down. "Dad," I started.  
  
"You're engaged? Sydney! Have you lost your mind?"  
  
"No, Dad, I'm not engaged. Vaughn wanted me to have this."  
  
"Is it a diamond?" his voice softened.  
  
"Yeah. It was his grandmother's."  
  
"It looks like. . .like the ring that I gave your mother when I asked her to marry me," he said quietly, his voice still remaining soft. "Sydney, people are bound to find out," he said, regaining his usual tone. "What are you going to say about the ring?"  
  
"That it was my mother's, just like you said."  
  
Dad smiled. "Good answer."  
  
"Dad, are you upset that Vaughn and I are together?"  
  
"Not really. I trust Vaughn. How is he taking your mission with Sark?"  
  
"All right, I guess." My dad's cell phone rang.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did you find her?" it was Kendall.  
  
"Yes, I did. We're about two minutes away," he hung up.  
  
"Kendall," I said dully.  
  
"Yeah," he said as we pulled into the parking garage.  
  
Vaughn met us at the door.  
  
"Hey," he smiled at me. "Kendall needs us in debrief. Weiss, Marshall, and Dixon are already there."  
  
I nodded and sat down in between Vaughn and Weiss.  
  
"As all of you know, Irina Derevko is on the loose. She and Sark were recently thought to have been seen in Germany at a bank. They made a normal withdrawal, according to the server that we hacked, and left. We've tracked them to Italy. Jack Bristow has been given operational control. Agent Vaughn, Agent Weiss, and Agent Dixon will be going as well as a team of agents to track them from there."  
  
Wait- where am I in all of this? It is my mother that we're going after.  
  
"Kendall? Where do I come in?" I asked. "You can't possibly be leaving me in LA."  
  
"Miss Bristow, I don't know if you remember, while you were out and about and unreachable, but you are currently on an assignment, your assignment being Mr. Sark. If you were to leave LA, and were seen by Mr. Sark, your cover would be blown."  
  
"This is my mother that we are going after! I deserve to be there!"  
  
"Miss Bristow, please sit."  
  
I hadn't realized that I was standing, and I silently sat down.  
  
"You will have radio contact with the mission. You will know what is going on, Miss Bristow."  
  
I jumped as something vibrated in my pocket. It was my cell phone. I had set my phone to vibrate before we had entered the debrief.  
  
"Hello?" I asked, exiting the room.  
  
"Miss Bristow."  
  
"Sark."  
  
"I must say, your idea to have the CIA track you to the restaurant was fantastic. You almost had me," I heard the sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"It was a brilliant idea, wasn't it?" I asked, just as sarcastic. "Too bad that I can't claim credit for it. Sark, I had not idea that they were following me."  
  
"That's fine, since you seemed genuinely surprised, and you actually got down onto your knees. Had you known this was coming, you wouldn't have. I still want to meet you again, somewhere."  
  
"Agent Bristow, get your ass back into this debrief room, now!" Kendall was.a little upset to say the least.  
  
I put my hand over the phone and hissed, "It's Sark. He wants to arrange a meeting. I'll be back in a minute."  
  
"All right. I'm back."  
  
"Your.boss, would you call him? He doesn't appear very happy."  
  
"He's just mad because I walked out of a meeting to take this call."  
  
"All right. Meet me in Rome. Check into a hotel under Andrea Walsh and I'll find you. Be there in two days, all right?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Sydney?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Did you ever think on my offer to join forces with me?"  
  
"I did."  
  
"And you considered it?"  
  
"Yes, but I have to go. I'll be in Rome in two days." I hung up and went back into debrief.  
  
"What did Sark say?"  
  
"I'm meeting him in Italy in two days."  
  
"What doesn't make sense though," said Vaughn thoughtfully, "is that even though we sent a team after you, without your knowledge and managed to corner Sark, he still wants to Sydney. Why?"  
  
"That's a good point," said Marshall. "I mean.please tell me if I'm out of line here, but unless Sark is only interested in the Rambaldi manuscript, which Sydney hasn't exactly made clear to us, then why would Sark, who's killed countless people without even thinking about it, want to continue seeing Sydney?" He took a breath. Marshall always crammed everything into one big, long sentence. "And for that matter," he continued, "Sark might not be after the Rambaldi documents. His motive here might be to kill Sydney."  
  
Kendall looked amazed. Usually, Marshall's rantings go on and on, without a point or purpose. This time, however, he had made a good point.  
  
"Agent Bristow," he said finally, "mention the Rambaldi document to Sark. See what kind of a reaction you get."  
  
"Kendall, Sark has asked me before to form a partnership with him, to work with him. He brought this up again when I was on the phone with him. He asked me if I'd considered it. I'm considering saying yes."  
  
"If you do, Agent Bristow, you'll be on your own," said Kendall.  
  
"We can't even inject a tracking device," said Weiss. "If Sark brings her to Sloane, which would be our main goal here, and she's checked, she'll be killed."  
  
"Which is clearly why she'd be on her own, which would be why we'd try not to go to that. We don't need to lose one of our best agents."  
  
"She's not joining Sark," said my father. "It's too dangerous."  
  
"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked.  
  
"No," said my father. "You can meet Sark, but I refuse to let you join him."  
  
"It could lead us to Sloane. We could find him!"  
  
"And how would you contact us?" he asked. I was so mad at him.  
  
"I'd find a way. I will, I promise. I'm going. I'll call you from the hotel," I stood and left the room. I was on my way, whether they wanted me to be or not. I was on my way. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
I was now Andrea Walsh, in Italy, meeting Sark. He had called and gotten my hotel and hotel room number. Now I had to switch rooms, and fast. Sark knew exactly where I was.  
  
He had told me to dress normally. Normally how? What I wear to work? What I wear when I'm not working? Which is hardly ever.  
  
I finally opted to put on jeans and a white tank top, finally finished the look with a jean jacket. I brushed out my hair and got ready to flip on the TV, just as I heard a knock on the door. I sighed and stood up to unlock it and open it. Yep, it was Sark.  
  
"Hey," I said.  
  
"Hey. Come on. Dinner's waiting."  
  
He drove us to a small café and I stood outside, looking at how pretty it was. I looked down at my hand and noticed that I was still wearing the ring that Vaughn had given me. I quickly slipped it off my finger and into my purse.  
  
"Sydney?" Sark came back outside. "Are you coming in?"  
  
"Yeah," I followed him inside. It was even more beautiful inside. The walls were the color of red wine, and Sark's dark form stood against one of them.  
  
"This is fantastic," I said as we sat down. The restaurant was completely empty. "What did you do, rent the whole place out?"  
  
"No, actually, I own it."  
  
No way, Sark owns a restaurant? Somehow, I just can't picture Sark in a chef's hat. It's impossible.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"You don't think I'm an assassin all the time, do you?"  
  
"No, but cooking?"  
  
"I lived on my own a lot, and I learned how to fend for myself. Through that, I leaned simple meals and then graduated to harder ones. Finally, when I was twenty, I started a restaurant. That's how the.I mean, that's how I got started in the espionage, or "evil psychotic assassin" business."  
  
Wow. Sark had just disclosed something about his personal life. Interesting.  
  
"Sydney?" he jolted me out of my thoughts. "Wine?"  
  
"Yeah, wine's okay."  
  
"Red or white?"  
  
"You pick." I was feeling generous. I had to find out what he was up to.  
  
"Fine. Red."  
  
The waiter hurried away. He was probably trying to get out of here as fast as he could before Sark got it into his head to kill him.  
  
"You are impossible to understand, Miss Bristow," he said, trying to read my expression as my eyes followed the waiter away.  
  
"Why?" Okay, now he's getting suspicious.  
  
"One minute, you're all happy and the next you want to kill someone. I'm trying to understand you."  
  
Uh.hello? Have you ever heard of a little thing called female hormones? Guess not. I smiled, but kept my thoughts to myself. "Sark, I've thought about your offer."  
  
His tone turned from soft and understanding to firm and businesslike. "And?"  
  
"What would I be doing, working for you?"  
  
"Like I said, it would be a partnership. In this case, I would give you the location of Arvin Sloane in return for.the highest possible security clearance from the CIA."  
  
Yeah. Uh. . .Sark? Only like, two people have that clearance in the entire country. I highly doubt that you could get the highest," I said truthfully, "even if it was to extract information in return for Sloane. Only two people, I think, have that clearance in the entire US."  
  
"If I led the CIA to Sloane, could I get it?" He must really be desperate for something.  
  
"I could probably get some sort of security clearance. There's no guarantee that it would be the highest," I said. "I'll work with you."  
  
"All right. Then, Miss Bristow, here's what you're going to have to do. You'll have to fake your death. Your on your own from the CIA, am I right?"  
  
I contemplated telling him. "There's a team in the place that you and my mother were rumored to be last, but yes, I am on my own."  
  
"Good. We will fake your death, here in Italy. The CIA will believe that I killed you, as will Sloane. I will then "turn you in" to Sloane and we will go from there."  
  
Was it worth this much just to get Sloane, Sark, my mother and the Rambaldi documents? It had better be. "What if, when you turn me in, Sloane kills me?"  
  
"He won't, because you will be dead to the CIA, and you will be handing over your Rambaldi paper. To him, it's gaining another agent working under him."  
  
I nodded. He handed me a piece of paper. "Meet me here tomorrow. We will fake your death and ensure that it gets back to Sloane and the CIA." He stood and we left the restaurant.  
  
"This had better work," I said as he dropped me off at the hotel.  
  
"Read it," he said, motioning to the folded paper in my hand. "Do what it says," he added before driving off.  
  
When I got back to my room, I read the note.  
  
"Sydney, meet me at the restaurant. We'll move in from there."  
  
I tore it up and flushed it down the toilet. I was having serious doubts about going through with this. I would have to leave Vaughn, my dad, Will, Francie. . .everyone. Vaughn. . . I picked up the phone and dialed the international operator. I had to hear his voice, just one last time. I was having doubts that I would even make it out of this alive.  
  
"Vaughn," he answered.  
  
"Hey," I said.  
  
"Hey Syd. Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm joining Sark, just tell Kendall for me. I just wanted to let you know that I'm meeting Sloane in a couple of days. Vaughn, I want you to know that I love you."  
  
"Syd, you will be coming back."  
  
"I hope."  
  
"Don't think like that. I have to go though. Kendall needs me. I love you. You'll be fine. Stay strong."  
  
"I will," I fought back tears. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
"Tell my dad that I love him."  
  
"I will. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
God, how was I going to get through this without killing myself, and Vaughn?  
  
***  
  
I met Sark early the next morning at the restaurant. He had already staged my death, I realized as he clicked on the TV.  
  
"Early this morning, an American woman was found dead in her car. Authorities identified the woman as Sydney Bristow. Further investigations are now taking place. If you have any information on the assassination of Ms. Bristow, please call this number."  
  
"How'd you do it?" I asked.  
  
"I found someone who looked like you, killed her, obviously, "found" her and paid the hospital to use your name and tell your family and the CIA."  
  
"They'll know, though."  
  
"The body is so mangled that no one could tell and no DNA test could prove that the body isn't yours. I already contacted Sloane. He's pleased, to say the least."  
  
"How long do we have to wait?"  
  
"Three days."  
  
"I can't wait three days!"  
  
"Consider it a vacation."  
  
Great. I'm in vacation. Oh joy, oh yeah, and I'm dead. This is just great. Is Sloane really worth all this? I don't think so.  
  
***  
  
CIA Headquarters  
  
"Find Agent Vaughn," commanded Kendall, staring in shock at the TV.  
  
"Yeah?" asked Vaughn, entering the room.  
  
"You have to see this," he said, motioning to the TV.  
  
"American Sydney Bristow was shot and killed this morning in Italy," said the reporter while a picture of Sydney appeared on the screen. "Investigations are now in progress."  
  
Vaughn stood speechless as the reporter went on and on, and stared at the TV in awe.  
  
Jack hurried into the room. He had just seen the news.  
  
"We sent her in and she was killed! I told you not to send her in!"  
  
"Jack, this couldn't be helped."  
  
"You could have not sent her in. You did, even though I specifically said not to!"  
  
"Jack, it was her choice. She knew that this might happen."  
  
She probably knew better than any of us, thought Vaughn, thinking of their conversation last night. He stared silently at the TV. He looked like he was in some sort of trance.  
  
"Meeting in an hour," Kendall said quietly, and left.  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
Three Days Later  
  
I stood outside the funeral home, not wanting to go inside. This would be the last time I saw her, period. Not the last time alive, not the last time upset, not the last time happy. . .the last time.  
  
"Hey man," Weiss came up behind me. "Come on. It's going to start." I followed him silently. I couldn't say anything. Everything was decorated so beautifully; just the way Syd would have wanted it. Somehow though, I felt like I was being plunged back into an awful dream- my father's death.  
  
We approached the casket, and I saw Sydney, all dressed up, laid out like she was a queen.  
  
Jack stood next to her casket, silent, sullen, lost in his own thoughts. From what. . .Sydney. . .God, I'm breaking down here. I can't even say her name in my head without cracking. Sydney had said that her dad had sunken into a deep depression after her mother's "death." I wondered how he'd get through her death.  
  
"Hey," he said softly.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"How are you doing?"  
  
"As expected. I guess I know how she felt now when Danny died."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
I looked at her hand, the hand where her ring was supposed to be. It wasn't there. If she was in her car, on her way to the airport. . .she would have been wearing it.  
  
"The ring," I said softly. "She's not wearing it."  
  
"It might have been stolen," said Jack.  
  
"She would have been wearing it. It's not her. Sydney's death was faked."  
  
"Mike," Weiss started. "I know you're upset about Syd's death, we all are, but isn't this just a little. . .extreme?"  
  
"I know she's alive. She is."  
  
"Mike, we'd better sit down. It's getting ready to start."  
  
I sat down and let my mind wander. Syd was alive, I knew it. She had to be.  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
By the third day, I was so sick of being in the hotel room. I just wanted to go outside, see the sun, for a change. But then again, as Sark had said, it's not normal for dead people to be roaming the streets.  
  
The phone next to the bed rang. I walked away from the window and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Come down to my room. There's someone that I want you to meet."  
  
"Sloane?"  
  
"No." He hung up.  
  
I took the elevator to the third floor- Sark's floor. I quietly knocked on the door, not exactly sure what I'd find.  
  
Sark opened it and I followed him inside. I saw a man sitting on the couch.  
  
"Mr. Andrews, this is Sydney Bristow, my partner."  
  
"Nice to meet you," I said, trying to hide my suspicions and not ask questions.  
  
"Is this the agent that faked her death? The one that you told me about?" he asked in a heavy Scottish accent.  
  
"Yes," said Sark.  
  
"You must be a very good agent to fake your death and leave your family and friends behind.  
  
My thoughts flew to Vaughn. It had only been three days, but it felt like an eternity to me. God, how I missed him.  
  
"Since Agent Bristow and I are partners, we need you to hunt down Arvin Sloane. Sloane lately has been. . .a little too close for comfort. We want you to kill him," said Sark.  
  
"You want me to find a man who is in hiding and assassinate him? Mr. Sark, if I am correct, you could easily assassinate him yourself. You're very close to him, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
"I don't want the blood on my hands," he said simply. He opened the suitcase and displayed the massive amount of money. "Fifty grand. Yours, if you do this."  
  
The man, Mr. Andrews, looked at me and I nodded.  
  
"All right," he finally said. "I'll do it."  
  
"Track him. You get paid only when you bring me the body," said Sark. "Mr. Andrews nodded, and left.  
  
"Sloane will be here in a minute. Go into the other room and shut the door. Come out only when you hear "I lied." That's your cue.  
  
"All right," I said as I heard a knock on the door. I quietly closed th door as Sark opened the other.  
  
"Mr. Sloane," he acknowledged him.  
  
"Mr. Sark," I pictured Sloane stepping into the room.  
  
"Please, sit down."  
  
"What was so urgent that you had to drag me away from Emily?"  
  
"Sir, I lied."  
  
I slowly turned the knob and quietly opened the door.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About me," I said.  
  
He stared at me like I was back from the dead or something. Oh yeah, I was.  
  
"She's not dead," he said.  
  
"No, she's not," said Sark. "She's agreed to cooperate"  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
"Agent Vaughn," another agent came to my desk.  
  
"Yeah?" I continued typing my report. Anything to keep my mind off Sydney.  
  
"Agent Kendall wants to see you."  
  
I looked up, curious as to why Kendall wanted to see me. I just nodded and headed to where the agent had directed me to go; the debrief room.  
  
"Agent Kendall?" I asked after I knocked on the door. "You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yeah," he said. Jack was there, along with a couple other agents, including Eric, Will and Marshall, who all looked sympathetically at me, like they knew what was coming and I didn't. "Have a seat."  
  
I sat. "Yeah?" I asked. I hadn't the slightest idea as to why I was here.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, when we did an autopsy, along with various other tests on Agent Bristow's body, we found some. . .problems," said Kendall.  
  
"Kendall, it's the same day of the funeral. Agent Bristow only died three days ago. Can we talk about this later?"  
  
"Agent Vaughn," said Jack wearily, "let Kendall finish."  
  
"Anyway, a test that was run on Agent Bristow's body showed. . ."  
  
"Showed what?" I asked.  
  
Kendall couldn't finish, and so Weiss did. "Mike, Syd was pregnant."  
  
I stared in shock from Kendall, to Jack, to Weiss, and finally to Marshall and the other agents.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, do you admit to a relationship with Sydney Bristow?"  
  
Everyone turned their heads to look at me. "Why is everyone looking at me?"  
  
"Uh, Vaughn, they've had you figured out for a long time," Weiss said, making everything suddenly seem obvious as I turned red.  
  
"Oh. Okay then."  
  
I looked at Kendall. "I didn't do it," I held my hands up in defense, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Do you deny your relationship with Agent Bristow?" he asked, bringing back the seriousness of the situation.  
  
"No," I couldn't deny loving Sydney.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, you are familiar with protocol?"  
  
Here it comes. I'm about to be kicked out. We Vaughn men just don't do well in the CIA, do we, Dad? I mentally asked my father.  
  
"Agent Kendall, I'd like to propose that we look outside protocol and abandon this. Sydney is gone, and she was the other half of this relationship. I think that her death will take its toll enough on Agent Vaughn. Don't only take this out on him," said Jack. Kendall looked at him and nodded.  
  
"Kendall?" I asked. "I swear, I did not get Sydney pregnant, and because of that, I still stand behind my belief that she is alive. I still believe that her death was somehow faked."  
  
"Noted," Kendall said dully. "Meeting adjourned."  
  
Once again, my thoughts went to Sydney. She was alive, I just knew it.  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
"What do you mean, "she's cooperating?" asked Sloane.  
  
"Exactly what I said," said Sark.  
  
"As in, the CIA believes that I am dead," I said.  
  
"But it doesn't make sense. Why would she abandon the CIA?" he asked suspiciously, as if I wasn't even there. But then I knew that he knew I was there. He pulled out his gun.  
  
"We have a partnership. Miss Bristow works for me and in return, Mr. Tippin and Miss Calfo stay alive," said Sark.  
  
Sloane looked like he had won the jackpot. "So she's working for us?"  
  
"Yes. She's working for us." 


	6. Chapter Six

AN: Okay- here goes the sixth chapter! This is a little shorter than the other ones, mainly because I found a good stopping point and decided to stop. Please review this, and I took a different angle with this chapter (I'll explain more at the end of the chapter) and I hope that it's an okay angle. Thanks for reading!  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Great. I'm working under Sloane, again. I thought that destroying SD- 6 would have meant no more Sloane. I guess I was wrong.  
  
I sat silently next to Sark as we were taken to Sloane. I could only hope that the assassin worked quickly and that I could get out of here.  
  
Sloane was. . .surprised, to say the least, to find me alive. Somehow though, I wished that I had ignored the voice in my head when it told me to defy Kendall and do this. Had I ignored it, and decided not to prove myself, I could be safe, in LA, with Vaughn. Life would be good.  
  
The car stopped and Sark helped me out of the car. I didn't want to see Sloane, or my mother, for that matter, but it was one of those things that had to be done.  
  
My mother met us at the entrance and I stared coldly at her. Right now, I hated her. I hated her for putting both me, and my father in this position.  
  
"Mr. Sark," she nodded. "Mr. Sloane would like to see you privately. Sydney, come with me."  
  
I looked at Sark, questioning whether to do this or not. He nodded, and so I turned to follow my mother. Somehow I was more trusting of Sark now. Had this been a week ago, I wouldn't have cared what he told me to do.  
  
"Sydney," she said as we entered an empty room. I looked for cameras, but there were none.  
  
"What?" I asked, crossing my arms.  
  
"There aren't any cameras. You can stop your charade."  
  
"And what if this isn't a "charade" as you put it?"  
  
"Sydney, what are you doing? The CIA thinks you're dead and you're working with Sark."  
  
"I should ask you the same thing, Mom. You betrayed Dad. He fought to get you out on that mission, and what did you do? You got away- you ran away, again."  
  
"I'm only trying to do the same as you- bring down Sloane. That's it, I promise."  
  
"How do I know I can trust you?"  
  
"You have to."  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"All right. Then how can you trust Sark?"  
  
A loud knock came at the door and I jumped.  
  
"It's soundproof," she mouthed. "Yeah?" she asked as she opened the door. Sark.  
  
"Mr. Sloane would like to see all of us," he said simply.  
  
I sat down across from Sloane and my mother, and next to Sark- ugh.  
  
"Miss Bristow," he started. "Welcome- again."  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
Another day, another day with Kendall- oh joy.  
  
"Uh, Vaughn?" Weiss asked. "Whoo-hoo, earth to Agent Mike!" he said, pulling me out of my thoughts.  
  
"Sorry. Just thinking."  
  
"Yeah, I know. About Sydney."  
  
"No, actually just about life in general."  
  
"Fascinating," he said sarcastically. "Uh, Emily Sloane's here."  
  
"Wait- didn't she die of cancer or something?"  
  
"Yeah. Syd spoke at her funeral. She wants to talk about her husband, but she'll only talk to Sydney."  
  
"She doesn't know?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Let me guess. I have to talk to Arvin Sloane's wife."  
  
"Either you or Jack- at least that's what Kendall said, and Jack already said no."  
  
"And since he's a senior officer."  
  
"You get the honor of doing it."  
  
"What am I supposed to say, "Oh yeah, hi. I'm Agent Vaughn. Sydney was killed a week ago by your husband's accomplice, or in her words, his "dog," but I'm her boyfriend and you can talk to me." Is that what Kendall wants me to say?"  
  
"You can't do this," said Weiss. "Mike, you can't even think- let alone talk about her without going nuts. I'll get Jack to do it."  
  
"No," my voice softened. "Jack's her father. He shouldn't have to do it. I'll do it."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
***  
  
"Emily Sloane?" I asked as I opened the door.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked. "I told Mr. Kendall that I would only speak to Sydney."  
  
I sat down across from her. "I know. Emily, Sydney was killed about a week ago, on assignment in Italy." I left out her husband's role in all of this. "Mr. Kendall wants me to talk to you instead."  
  
"Jack. I want to see Jack, then."  
  
"Agent Bristow.is out of the country," I lied. Hopefully Jack would stay out of sight until she left.  
  
"All right," she sighed. "I want to turn my husband in. I'll help the CIA find him, and Irina, on one condition."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That he doesn't get the death penalty."  
  
"I'll talk to Kendall. I'll see what I can do," I said.  
  
Of course he said no after I asked. Finally, with a little push from Jack, he said yes. Emily signed the papers and we hooked up the wire. We could finally find Sloane and Derevko.  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
"Here's the basic plan," said Sloane. "Irina will escort the two of you to my house. We will discuss the Rambaldi document there." Sloane stood to leave and Sark and I stood as well.  
  
"Don't turn traitor on me, Sydney," he said quietly as I exited the room. Yeah right, as if I was going to. Like I had anywhere to go.  
  
"I'd love to say that I was falling back into my old routine as a double- agent, but I'd be lying. The CIA thinks I'm dead. I'm no threat to you now," I said coldly.  
  
Later, my mother took us to Sloane's new. . .house. I'd call it a mansion, but everyone referred to it as a house, so I did too. Sloane had apparently told her something, because she immediately went to Sloane's study and opened a safe and took out a key and a disk. I knew the key was for something, I just couldn't figure out what.  
  
Sark and I watched as my mother took out both items and he smiled. Apparently, he knew exactly what was going on, and I was the only one left out of the loop. I looked around as I heard an explosion and glass shattering.  
  
"Sloane!" it was Vaughn, and more than likely, the CIA.  
  
Sark shot me a look, like this was my fault. "You checked. I'm not bugged. I'm dead, remember?"  
  
"Let's go," my mother said. "Sydney, you first. Stay out of sight. Sark, get to the extraction point. Meet us there," she tossed him a headset and he took off one way while my mother and I followed Sloane and Emily into the passageway, hiding in the shadows. After all, Emily thought I was dead, and I wanted to keep it that way.  
  
"Go," I head my mother say. "I got the disk," she said into the headset.  
  
"Good," Sark said. He had given me an earpiece earlier. "Both of you, meet me at the extraction point."  
  
"Sydney?" asked my mother. She hadn't known.  
  
"Yeah. Where is it?"  
  
"Take the passageway to a ladder, climb out, look for the chopper," my mother said.  
  
I heard Sloane and Emily start running again and I did too. My mother was close behind, I could hear her footsteps. I kept running, even though my heart was telling me to stop. Stop, wait for Vaughn to find you, confess everything. . .but I couldn't. It was too late to turn back now.  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
I slowly turned the corner, my gun in front of me. No one. I turned another corner. Nothing.  
  
"They're in some kind of tunnel. It starts to the east. Check it from the outside to see where it leads," I radioed over to my mission partner, Agent Mason.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Agent Vaughn, you are being assigned a new asset," the look on Kendall's face clearly said, "Don't screw it up with this one too." "Unfortunately, she is still finishing up her training as a field agent. Your partner for this mission is Agent Abigail Mason," said Kendall.  
  
"Abbie," she said, shaking my hand with a smile. "I've heard great things about you, Agent Vaughn, and I'm looking forward to working with you."  
  
"Same," I said. I had been over her file. She had passed her final training tests with flying colors. In fact, she was almost as good an agent as Sydney, Kendall had put it, and with a little more experience, she would be.  
  
"I have a feeling that you two will make a great team," said Kendall.  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
"Will do," she radioed back. "Meet you at the exit."  
  
I followed the tunnel and ducked behind a wall as a bullet whizzed by me. I returned the shot and saw a figure climbing out of the tunnel. It was a figure that I knew all too well. Sydney?  
  
Another shot was fired and then the figure climbed up the ladder as well. Derevko?  
  
"Freeze!" I called. "Don't move!"  
  
She looked down and smirked, but continued climbing, so I fired. I shot her in the arm, hoping she'd drop the disk. She did, and finished climbing, then fell to the ground outside.  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
"Mom!" I tried to yell as I saw her fall, but Sark covered my mouth with his hand. "Your cover will be blown! She'll be fine." She pulled herself to her feet and rant toward the helicopter and Sark pushed me behind him and out of sight as Vaughn's head popped out of the tunnel. My heart raced, as it usually did whenever I saw him, and I all of a sudden was filled with a crazy idea to fling myself from the helicopter and hope he'd catch me before I hit the ground.  
  
Sark fired at Vaughn, and Vaughn ducked back inside, narrowly avoiding being hit.  
  
Sloane and Emily dashed across the open field and I saw Dixon carefully take aim. This could be it- the end of Sloane. Emily and Sloane fell to the ground as Dixon looked up. Sloane moved to sit up, but Emily didn't. That's when it hit me; Emily was dead.  
  
My mother pulled Sloane to his feet and they made it to the chopper. Her arm was bleeding, but as I looked at it, it didn't look too bad. Sloane was silent- just staring down at Emily.  
  
"Go, go, go!" Sark's British accent cut through the whirring of the chopper and the helicopter took off. "Do you have the disk?" he asked my mother.  
  
She just shook her head and leaned back into the seat, breathing heavily. As the chopper took off, we watched Emily's still form, and a blonde figure beside it, get smaller and smaller. I couldn't help but wonder though, just who, exactly, was she? Had they replaced me that quickly? I asked myself as I looked toward Vaughn. His green eyes met mine and I knew he understood, if only for a moment, the moment that green met brown, that I was alive.  
  
AN: Okay- so now you've read it. Please click the little purple button at the bottom- pretty please? Also tell me how you liked the format of this chapter. I know that it's the same as Truth Takes Time, or at least some of the lines from it (and I know that Emily's weren't the exact, but it got the point across, right?) and I intentionally did that, because up until I find a point where I want to go completely AU because something has happened in the show that I don't like, I'd like to keep up with what's happening. Thanks for reading! 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
  
"Sydney?" my mother asked, knocking on my hotel room door. We were in Madrid, why? Beyond me. We'd been here for two days. Somehow, the CIA hadn't found us, yet.  
  
"Yeah, come on in!" I called, seeing as I had left the lock between the frame and the door. It was open.  
  
"Hey," she said, sitting next to me as I flipped through a folder.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"What are you really doing here, Sydney?"  
  
"Sark and I have.plans."  
  
"What kind of plans?"  
  
"Ask Sark. I'm not quite sure."  
  
"Sydney."  
  
"Mom, I'm serious."  
  
"He likes you, you know."  
  
"Who? Sloane? Yeah, I know, thanks for stating the obvious."  
  
"No," she smiled. "Sark." Sark? Sark is an assassin. He likes no one, other than himself, and maybe his gun.  
  
"Mom, Sark and I hate each other with a passion."  
  
"Sydney, I'm right about these things, admit it. I was right about Vaughn, wasn't I?" she gestured to my hand.  
  
Another knock came at the door. "Yeah?" I called.  
  
"Agent Bristow," Sark pushed the door open. "Irina," he nodded. "We need to talk."  
  
"Close the door," I said. He did.  
  
"We have a bit of a problem."  
  
"Yeah?" I asked.  
  
"Our assassin is a traitor."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I overheard him speaking to Sloane about our true intentions. He's bound to bring it up."  
  
"So we're all on the same ground here? We want Sloane out?" my mother asked. "Yes," Sark answered for me. "We do."  
  
"He's going to be harder to remove without Emily," she said.  
  
"It will be done. And at our hands- no one else's," he said.  
  
I sat quietly. "Vaughn knows."  
  
Sark's eyes shifted from me and turned from their usual dark, icy blue to a lighter color. "Knows what?" Was my mother right, sure, chameleon eyes weren't uncommon, but when Sark's change color, something's up.  
  
"That I'm alive. I made eye contact with him in Tuscany two days ago. He understands, and knows."  
  
"Will he tell Kendall?" asked my mother.  
  
"Or worse yet, your father?" suggested Sark.  
  
"No," I shook my head. "Vaughn won't."  
  
"You're sure that you can trust him?"  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
It was three in the morning and I had to be at work by eight. Why was I awake, still?  
  
I knew the answer to that question. It was one word- the name of a woman who died, and took my heart with her. Although now, she knew it, and I knew it- she was alive. Somehow though, this only complicated things. At least when I thought she was dead, there was a final tone to it. Now though, she was alive, and there was nothing I could do about it.  
  
Six hours later, I was on my third cup of coffee and desperately trying to stay awake so I could write my mission debrief.  
  
"Hey," said Weiss. He noticed my coffee cup, full, again. "What is that, your fourth cup?"  
  
"Third," I corrected him. "I.uh.didn't get much sleep last night."  
  
"Mike, that's obvious. Your new asset is hardly going to be impressed."  
  
"She's ready?"  
  
"Yeah, meeting's in a half hour. New assignment."  
  
"What about the other girl?"  
  
"Who, Abbie?" Weiss smiled.  
  
"Oh no," I said, rolling my eyes.  
  
"Yeah. Partners. She goes, I stay. Plenty of radio communication," he smiled.  
  
"Uh, Eric? Breaking protocol didn't work for Syd and I and it won't work for you." I stopped. "You've got a thing for blondes, don't you?"  
  
"No," he shook his head. "I don't!" He blushed.  
  
"Eric!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Agent Weiss?" the blonde appeared in the door.  
  
He grinned at me. Great. Weiss has a new girlfriend. "Yeah?"  
  
She smiled. "Agent Kendall wants to see the both of you. He wants us for debrief," she added to Weiss.  
  
"Where to?" he asked.  
  
"Don't know. That's the point of a debrief, so we can be prepared for the mission," she smiled.  
  
Ugh, this was getting disgusting. I decided to get a move on and meet my asset.  
  
"Agent Vaughn," Kendall greeted me. "This is Agent Colleen Pagnotta. Agent Pagnotta, Agent Vaughn."  
  
"Nice to meet you," she said politely. Was that a ring on her finger? Yes, thank God. I won't end up like Weiss, once again, thank God.  
  
"Your next assignment is in Madrid. Irina Derevko and Sark were spotted, just recently, at a hotel." A picture, obviously from a hotel security camera- a color security camera flashed on the screen. It was a blonde Derevko and a brunette Sark, but definitely them.  
  
"That's them," I said.  
  
"Agent Pagnotta and Agent Mason have been briefed on Sark and Derevko. Agent Bristow is being given operational control. Your flight leaves in an hour."  
  
I looked at Weiss as we stood up. I hadn't told him about Syd. God, how I missed her. Maybe I'd find her, see her there, if only for a minute. Maybe, just maybe.  
  
***  
  
Syd's POV  
  
"We've been compromised!" Sark flew into my hotel room.  
  
"How'd you get a key?" I asked. This was clearly an invasion of my personal space.  
  
"Front desk," he smirked, clearly seeing that I was not happy with his barging in on my free time. He tossed me my suitcase. "Get packed. The CIA is in the hotel."  
  
"What?" I flew off the bed and started tossing stuff into my suitcase.  
  
"Sloane wants you to go down the side staircase and out the indoor pool exit. Meet us at the car."  
  
"Black limo?"  
  
"Yeah," he picked up my suitcase that I had finished packing. I grabbed the magazine that I was reading, in case I got time later, and took off.  
  
I flew down five flights of stairs, and I had one more flight to go before I finally crashed into someone.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said quickly in Spanish. "Excuse me."  
  
"Wait," he grabbed my arm. "Syd?" It was Vaughn. My heart sank. He didn't need to see me here- not now, when I was on the run from him.  
  
"Vaughn!" I hugged him. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see him, it was just the wrong time.  
  
"Syd," he helped me up and kissed me. I pulled away after a minute.  
  
"I have to go. Sark's waiting."  
  
He nodded. "All right," he quickly kissed me again. "Wait," he said as I turned to go.  
  
He handed me his cell phone. He had already dialed a number and it was ringing.  
  
"Hello?" a man's voice answered. It was a voice that I knew all too well. Kendall.  
  
"Hello?" he asked again.  
  
I took a deep breath. "Kendall, it's Sydney Bristow. I'm in Spain."  
  
"Can I ask what the hell you're doing in Spain? Or do I just not want to know?"  
  
"I'm alive, all right? I have to go, bye." I handed Vaughn the phone and ran.  
  
"What took you so long?" asked Sark.  
  
"I ran into an agent. I had to take her out."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Get in."  
  
I climbed in and closed my eyes. Somehow, seeing Vaughn just made things worse. I missed him more than ever."  
  
"You all right?"  
  
"Yeah. I just want it all to be over."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Me moved over next to me as Sloane and my mother got in. Somehow, I didn't find myself completely grossed out. Of course, I could have been sitting next to Sloane, so I wasn't complaining. Maybe Mom was right, the way he was acting and looking at me. Maybe he did like me.  
  
Scary thought, Syd. Sark liking you? I woke up from my thoughts.  
  
"Where are we going?" I asked.  
  
"Further south. We're going to visit Mr. Caplan," Sloane said.  
  
I sank back into my seat. It was going to be long ride.  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
Well, I'm back in LA- without Sydney. Now the CIA thinks that Kendall and I are both nuts. Jack's been sitting on a little secret though; he's the new director of the Ops Center. Kendall's not happy, to say the least.  
  
My cell phone rang and I answered it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"We're in Spain," it was Sydney. "I'm on a secure line. Bug killer, untraceable, the works."  
  
"Whose phone are you on?"  
  
"Sark's." My heart sank. "He let you use his phone?"  
  
"Yeah. He knows. Vaughn, he's the reason that I'm almost ready to take down Sloane. He's helping me."  
  
"I doubt that."  
  
"He is."  
  
"Whatever you say, Syd. Anyhow, I have to go. There's a meeting."  
  
"All right. Love you."  
  
"Love you too."  
  
I headed for debrief and managed to get cornered by Jack. Great.  
  
"Mr. Vaughn," nope. Not a good tone. "You may be.comfortable with my daughter, but this in no way means that you are comfortable with me." Well I seriously hope not. Are we hinting at something here?  
  
Stop it, I mentally told myself. I debated on whether to tell him about Sydney or not. Nah.  
  
"I'd also like to inform you that I know of your.meeting in Spain with my daughter. Kendall informed me. When she contacts you again, Vaughn, you will tell me, all right?" I could only nod. Jack knows Syd's alive, and he wants to track her. Great.  
  
"She's still in Spain. I made contact with her a few hours ago."  
  
"What, exactly did she say?"  
  
"She's working with Sark. They're going to take down Sloane."  
  
"Jack's eyes flashed. He was not a happy camper. "Hand me your phone the next time she calls."  
  
I nodded, and headed for debrief.  
  
"Basically what it comes down to is that we are putting you- all of you," Jack gestured to Weiss, Agent Pagnotta, Agent Mason and me, "on two missions. Your first is to track down and kill this man." A picture flashed on the screen of a heavyset-looking man, completely decked out in Scottish dress, with bagpipes. Weiss looked mildly amused and tried not to laugh.  
  
"Willy Andrews. Scottish free agent. Seen meeting Sloane at the hotel that he was seen at last week. We suspect that he may be working with Sloane and Derevko."  
  
"So what are we supposed to do, exactly?" asked Weiss.  
  
"Hunt him down, track him to Sloane. Weiss and Mason, that is your assignment. Agent Vaughn, when Bristow makes contact, you will get the location and move in to extract her."  
  
"What about Caplan?" I asked.  
  
"We're doing all we can," said Jack.  
  
I decided to go and see Caplan's wife, take matters into my own hands.  
  
"You should try the hypnosis therapy," I said. "We don't have any more leads."  
  
"I don't feel comfortable with the government poking around in my head," she said.  
  
"Like I said, we're out of leads. We may not be able to find your husband."  
  
"You're saying that I'm not doing enough? How dare you," I never said that, and I opened my mouth to explain, but she had already left.  
  
I went back a few days later. "We found a lead. We found that the Russian reporter that we have been monitoring received a fax today."  
  
"Did you find out what it said?"  
  
"A single Russian word. Endgame."  
  
"They're going to kill him," she said quietly.  
  
"Not necessarily," I said.  
  
"They will. Seven years ago, I was ordered to seduce and marry Neil. I implanted a tracking device in his arm, but it has a secondary purpose. My handler- he had the code to have it release cyanide into his bloodstream. That's what the fax was about. It was activated."  
  
I stared in shock at Elsa. "You're not authorized to be telling me this." She nodded. "We'll do what we can, thanks."  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
It was Sark's and my job to guard Caplan. Although, after what happened to my mother, I could see why Sloane wanted us to guard him. It didn't matter if he managed to strangle us.  
  
Sark's cell phone rang. "Sark," he answered.  
  
"Find Sydney," I heard Vaughn's voice.  
  
"How did you get this number?" he asked.  
  
"I have my ways," he said sneakily. "Now let me talk to Sydney."  
  
He gave the phone a dirty look and sighed as he handed it to me. "Mr. Vaughn," he said simply.  
  
"Hello?" I asked.  
  
"It's me. Listen, Caplan has a device in his left arm that is set to release cyanide in forty-two hours. I'm going to try and get the codes to disarm it. Meanwhile," he paused for effect, "your father brought in Elsa Caplan. She's working for the SVR. She put the device in. She's in your mother's cell and uh.he's the new director of the Ops Center."  
  
"Oh.my God," I said.  
  
"Yeah, so you and Sark should get this show on the road."  
  
"The assassin's working as quick as possible."  
  
"Willy Andrews?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Syd, he's not helping you guys."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Weiss and his new girlfriend have been assigned to track him. He was seen in your last hotel with Sloane. Security cameras showed he and Sloane in the lobby, talking for about an hour. They looked highly friendly, Syd."  
  
"Wait- Weiss's new girlfriend? The blonde?"  
  
"Yeah. Syd, look into it."  
  
"I will, don't worry."  
  
"We trying to come get Caplan and pull you out, all right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I've got to get moving, try and get the codes from Elsa. I'll keep you updated."  
  
"Please do."  
  
"All right. Bye."  
  
"Bye." I hung up.  
  
"Sloane wants to see me. Will you stay here?" Sark asked.  
  
"Yeah," I nodded.  
  
Sark left and Caplan and I were alone. "My name is Sydney Bristow. I am a double agent for the CIA. A team is being sent in for you. Your wife.she works for the SVR. She injected you with a tracer set to release cyanide into your bloodstream in forty-two hours. We have to remove it, or you will die."  
  
"Can you remove it later?" he didn't look fazed that his wife was a Russian spy. "Yeah, when my team gets here." Why not remove it now? Oh well.  
  
"Sydney, duck!" Sark's voice shot through the air. I immediately crumpled to the ground as a bullet flew over my head.  
  
It was Sloane who had shot at us. Sark ran to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.  
  
"Come on," he said, firing off a few shots to warn Sloane to keep his distance.  
  
We ran as quickly as we could, flying around corners and pausing long enough for Sark to fire a few shots.  
  
Finally, we made it out. Sloane had stopped chasing us and we escaped.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Our assassin spilled. We were compromised."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes. I'm turning myself into the CIA. You'll be able to go back to normal."  
  
What if I don't want to go back to normal?  
  
"What if I like the excitement of this life?" I asked.  
  
"You're saying that your CIA life with Mr. Vaughn isn't exciting?" he asked with a smirk.  
  
"I'm not saying that." It's just that Vaughn's.a safe option. I need a little excitement, but Sark, exciting?  
  
He handed me his cell phone. "Call Agent Vaughn. Let him know that we'll be in LA in the morning."  
  
I dialed, Vaughn answered. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi," I said.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"You were right. Andrews did turn us in. Sark is surrendering to the CIA. He wants to help."  
  
"Syd, are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, I am."  
  
"All right. I'll inform Kendall."  
  
"We'll be in LA in the morning."  
  
"See you then."  
  
"Yeah, bye."  
  
"Hey," Sark said. "We've got a couple of hours before we have to get back. Come on," he hailed a taxi.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
We finally arrived at a small house, right next door to a lush, green forest. Was this Sark's house?  
  
"Here we are," he said, paying the driver. "My house in Spain."  
  
"It's beautiful," I said.  
  
"You like it?"  
  
"Yeah," I smiled.  
  
I don't really know what happened after that, but suddenly, Sark's lips covered mine. My first thought was to push away and then haul off and slug him, but then I relaxed and leaned into the kiss.  
  
He finally pulled away and our eyes met.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, going over to the porch swing.  
  
"Sark, it's all right. It's been coming. No one can hate someone with a passion and not have some other feelings deep down," I sat down beside him.  
  
He smiled and brushed his thumb over my lips and kissed me again. "Come inside when you're ready," he got up and went inside.  
  
I felt like I was floating. I was in love with Sark. I saw something glitter in the sunlight and I looked at my hand. It was the ring that Vaughn had given me two weeks ago. It suddenly hit me. Without being fully aware of it, I had cheated on Vaughn. How was I going to manage to get out of this one? 


	8. Chapter Eight

Author's Notes: Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. It's taken me a while to write this, so it's nice and long for you. Also, reviews are appreciated.I'm sort of losing my readers.I guess.  
  
SO PLEASE! Review. Also- I have the ending to this written, but I need some help getting there (see bottom for details.)  
  
Also, thanks to Screen Names Are Tacky, black.Hawk, ploy, and Ryanne for reviewing. Enjoy the next bit!  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
"Hey," I was visiting Elsa Caplan again. "How are you holding up?"  
  
"Where's Aaron?"  
  
"He's safe. Don't worry."  
  
"I am worried."  
  
I pressed a button on my watch, a pre-recorded statement and instructions. I talked over it to hide it from security, and Jack, who was probably watching somewhere.  
  
"Elsa, don't react. You're listening to a recorded message through a sound director. You're the only one who can hear this. The CIA won't sanction an extraction team to get the locator. I'm going in myself. I need you to give me the locator codes. Cross your arms and tap them out to me with your index finger."  
  
A guard was coming. I figured that Jack had definitely been watching and suspected that I was up to something.  
  
My eyes never left her fingers as she tapped the codes out for me. A guard told me to back away from the glass, but I stayed put.  
  
"Thank you," she said as she finished. I backed away. Sydney would be here in a mere twelve hours. We could get back to Spain in time. She'd be a bit jetlagged, but it's nothing new.  
  
I had to find Jack. He should know that Syd was on her way back. I checked every place that I could think of, and then it dawned on me: Elsa Caplan. That's where I finally found him.  
  
I got there in time to hear him say, "In fact, I probably care more about your son than you do."  
  
"Excuse me," I said to the guard. "I need to speak with Director Bristow."  
  
"He's a bit busy."  
  
"It's urgent."  
  
"Fine," the guard waved me through.  
  
"Jack!" I yelled, dashing down the hall.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, I'm busy," he continued his verbal assault.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"Later!"  
  
After another minute, I couldn't stand it anymore. "Jack!"  
  
"What?" he turned to look at me, frustrated.  
  
"Sydney's on her way back."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's on her way back. She'll be here in the morning. Sark's coming too- he's turning himself in."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sloane discovered them. Sydney's coming back, Sark's turning himself in."  
  
"What's his motive?"  
  
"Safety, I guess. His alliance with Sloane is gone. He could be helpful."  
  
"And if he feeds us the wrong Intel, we could be walking into a trap."  
  
"We could use him. Sydney seemed pretty confident that he could help," I said.  
  
"Sydney's judgment is clouded."  
  
"Jack, we won't make the same mistake twice."  
  
"Are we sure, Agent Vaughn? No. Call Sydney back and tell her not to bring Sark in."  
  
"Jack, it'll be fine. Sark will be more useful than not."  
  
He sighed. "All right. Bring him in."  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
God, why was I doing this? Here I was, in the CIA parking garage, getting ready to call in my location so they could come and get Sark.  
  
There was no need. A team of guards came out and took us hostage, checking us for weapons.  
  
"Hey," I said. "Wait." I pulled out my badge. "I work here."  
  
"Agent Bristow?" He looked over it carefully; checking it for flaws, as if he thought it was a fake. "Didn't you die a couple of weeks back?"  
  
"I faked my death to get Intel on Sloane. I need to see my father," I gave him a dirty look.  
  
As if on cue, my father and Vaughn entered the garage.  
  
"Cuff him," my father commanded. The team did and left.  
  
"Sydney!" He hugged me. "I'm so glad that you're alive."  
  
"Where's Weiss? Isn't he happy to see me?" I asked.  
  
"Assignment with his new partner. Come on, you can meet them over the radio. My asset's with them."  
  
I smiled. "Can I?"  
  
My father looked at me. "Kendall and I discussed this earlier. You have a day off, but you are due back tomorrow."  
  
"All right," I smiled at Vaughn.  
  
"Come on, Weiss will be happy to hear from you."  
  
"It'll be nice to talk to him." We entered the elevator. Immediately after the doors closed, Vaughn enveloped me in a tight embrace and kissed me.  
  
I kissed him back, my hands instinctively moving from around his neck into his blonde-brown hair, my fingers running wildly through it.  
  
"I love you," he said in between kisses.  
  
"Do you?" I asked.  
  
"We need to get some control here, Syd. We're five floors away, and someone might get on.  
  
"Get control?" I asked, filled with a warm feeling. "Vaughn, I believe that you started this. It's your fault."  
  
"I know," he said with a smile.  
  
I fell forward as the elevator stopped abruptly. Vaughn caught me and helped me to my feet.  
  
"What happened?" I asked.  
  
"Look around, Syd. The elevator stopped. We're stuck."  
  
"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked.  
  
My cell phone rang. Kendall. Great.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Agent Bristow. Are you and Agent Vaughn all right?" We're stuck in an elevator, believe me, Kendall, we're more than "all right."  
  
"Yeah, how long until you can get us out? This is supposed to be my day off." "We called a few mechanics. Ours are on vacation."  
  
You picked this week to put them on vacation? Whatever happened to the backup mechanics? That's an excellent idea, especially when the elevator breaks down.  
  
"How long?" I repeated.  
  
"An hour to get here and add in the repair time. Two hours, probably. Will you and Vaughn be all right?" he asked again.  
  
"We'll be fine, don't worry."  
  
"All right. Good luck."  
  
I sat down next to Vaughn against the wall. He put his arm around me and I moved up against him. We hadn't done this in a while. God, how I love him. How could I have ever felt like this with Sark? Still.  
  
"Syd?"  
  
"Yeah?" He kissed me.  
  
I smiled and kissed him back. He pressed me up against him and I settled my head under his chin, in a spot that seemed to be made for me.  
  
I closed me eyes, just resting. God, how I love him.  
  
"Syd?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"We have a bit of a problem."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"When you faked your death, the corpse that we buried, thinking it was you.it was pregnant."  
  
"And?"  
  
"The office knows about us. They agreed to forget protocol just this once. Now that you're back.they might take action."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"To be blunt, Kendall came to me and flat-out accused me of being the father."  
  
"We'll have this argument with him again, someday, you know."  
  
"Hopefully after we're married, Syd. Not anytime soon."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Syd, will you marry me?"  
  
I hesitated. Could I? Could I give up my growing attraction to Sark for Vaughn? Growing attraction. That's all it was, which meant I could stop it before it got out of hand. Could I say yes to Vaughn?  
  
"Could you give me some time? I asked. "I need to think things through." He nodded. He understood where I was coming from. For the first time in my life, I was confused. Sydney Bristow never gets confused. Sydney Bristow also never gets scared of the future.  
***  
  
We finally got out of the elevator two hours later. We got onto the radio immediately and Weiss sounded more than thrilled to hear from us.  
  
"I'm back!" I cheerfully announced to Weiss.  
  
"Back from the dead, eh Syd?"  
  
"Yep, aren't you happy to see me?"  
  
"Or hear you," he said.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Welcome back. Agent Bristow, this is Agent Colleen Pagnotta. She's Vaughn's new asset. You'll probably meet here when we get back."  
  
"Hi," I heard a voice come over the radio.  
  
"And this is Agent Abbie Mason, my partner."  
  
"Hi," another cheerful voice came over the radio.  
  
She's happy. She must be the blonde that I saw.  
  
"Vaughn, we've just spotted Andrews. We're moving in."  
  
"Where are you?" I asked.  
  
"Spain. We're closing in. Going radio-silent."  
  
"Come on," Vaughn said quietly. "I got the locator codes and you know where Caplan is at. We're going to Spain and pulling out Caplan. We've got twelve hours." I nodded and we headed to the airport.  
  
***  
  
"Hurry," he tossed me a gun and a backpack. I put the backpack on over my bulletproof vest and tucked the gun at my side.  
  
We quietly got in and I saw my mother, guarding Caplan. Vaughn fired at her and she ducked under the desk.  
  
"One hour," he said, splitting away from me to search for her backup.  
  
I held her at gunpoint, grabbed her gun and tossed her a pair of handcuffs.  
  
"Cuff yourself to the pole," I said, my voice slightly cracking.  
  
"Look away," I told Caplan.  
  
"Hey," he grabbed my arm. "You should know that I was recruited to the NSA six years ago, although they'll deny any affiliation with me. I know about Elsa. Don't hurt her."  
  
I nodded, even though I hadn't the slightest idea what he was talking about. I assumed that Vaughn would catch me up later.  
  
I slip open Caplan's wrist, wincing as it became bloody. I quickly located the tracker and removed it, tossing it off to the side.  
  
Vaughn appeared and freed Caplan and handed him a bandage. I considered freeing my mother and taking her back to Kendall, but then I'd have twice as much fun at the Ops Center.  
  
Sloane appeared in the doorway and fired at us. We dodged a few bullets and ran, finally opting to leave my mother where she was. We took out the guard and Caplan grabbed a gun. He and Vaughn shot back and Sloane as I worked on getting us the the extraction point.  
  
We made it to the chopped that Vaughn had called from one of his contacts and quickly climbed aboard. Kendall was inside, as was Sark.  
  
Wait- this wasn't right. Vaughn and I took off without the help of the CIA. Dad and Kendall didn't even know where we were.  
  
"Mr. Caplan," Kendall acknowledged Caplan warmly, something that was all too new to us. "We are on our way to LA. You will be reunited with your wife soon. Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, come with me. Oops. We're in trouble.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?" he exploded as we entered a room.  
  
"We rescued Caplan, didn't we?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"Yes, after we told you to drop the mission. You're lucky that we received a call from your contact and we were on our way to find and extract Agent Weiss's team and that Mr. Sark knew where you'd be. You'd have been on your own."  
  
"We were doing fine!" I protested, supporting Vaughn.  
  
"Since I am no longer in control of the Ops Center, your disciplinary action doesn't rest with me. Director Bristow will take care of that."  
  
"Wait- what?" My dad, the director?  
  
"Sydney, your dad became the director shortly after you left," said Vaughn. "I'll just warn you, I don't think that he'll take this too lightly, Agent Bristow. He already stood up for you once when you and Agent Vaughn were discovered. I don't think that he'll convince Devlin to let it slide twice."  
  
Shot down. "How far are we from Weiss?"  
  
"About an hour. The team is trying to take out Andrews."  
  
"Take him out?"  
  
***  
  
Spain  
  
Weiss and the team crept closer to the room where Andrews sat. Their guns were ready and Weiss was about to give the signal.  
  
Colleen was excited. Kendall had instructed her to pull away from the group and find Andrews herself. She was more than ready.  
  
Weiss and Abbie turned to the left and Colleen ducked to the right. She snuck around a corner and came face to face with the very man that she was hunting; Andrews himself.  
  
Yes, she thought to herself. I've got this!  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked, holding her at gunpoint.  
  
She didn't lower her gun. Should she shoot him? She kicked at him and knocked his gun away. She fought him, each backing up and moving forward until finally, she pinned him to the ground at gunpoint.  
  
"Move, and I will shoot," she warned.  
  
"Can you get your foot off of my chest?" he asked in a heavily accented Scottish voice.  
  
She moved her foot and he grabbed it, making her trip and fall to the ground. He leapt up and grabbed his gun and true to her word, she fired. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg. She fired again, hitting him in the chest.  
  
He didn't move as she stood up and Weiss and Abbie dashed into the room.  
  
"What happened?" Weiss asked.  
  
"He found me, tripped me, and then I threatened to shoot him if he moved. He moved, I shot."  
  
"Weiss stood, dumbfounded.  
  
"Come on," Abbie said gently pushing him to the door. "Kendall's waiting."  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
Twenty-four hours later, we were back in LA. Elsa and Neil Caplan had just left for a CIA safe house. They had opted for witness protection and were at the safe house until we could get them a new alias.  
  
Kendall was not happy, to say the least. After he had his fun yelling at us on the plane, he yelled at us some more at the Ops Center. When my dad found out, he just looked at me in that was that parents look at you when they're disappointed. He didn't even yell at us, just gave me a disappointed look and stayed silent. He wasn't happy either. I hated it when he didn't say anything.  
  
I decided to abandon the silence and staring and go and debrief Sark. He had agreed to only speak to me. What's with the criminals and only wanting to talk to me? First my mother, now Sark.  
  
The gates clanged open and suddenly, I wished that it was my mother inside that cell, and not Sark. He was in the same position that I usually found my mother in; eyes closed, lost in thought, meditating.  
  
His eyes opened slowly as he took in the sight of me in front of him.  
  
"Hey," I said softly. "How are you holding up?"  
  
"All right, I guess." He smiled. "It's protection from Sloane, but it's no five-star hotel."  
  
"You'd think that the CIA could afford to give their prisoners better living conditions," I joked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Kendall wants me- or rather my father wants me to debrief you after my lunch break. Do you want anything? I know that the food here isn't exactly first-rate, and you did save Vaughn's and my life. The least I can do is get you a burger or something."  
  
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, "cheeseburger with the works."  
  
"You've got it. I'll be back in an hour."  
  
***  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
I stood in front of the camera and listened to Syd talk to Sark.  
  
"She's offering him a burger?" Weiss came up behind me. "Geez, she's awful giving lately. First it was you and the drawer, and now it's Sark and a cheeseburger. I can see it now- she'll win the Nobel Peace Prize. solve world hunger by giving away cheeseburgers."  
  
"I told you not to mention the drawer," I muttered. She nodded at something and started heading back up. I moved away from Weiss and the camera and met her at the stairwell.  
  
"Hey," I said. "Ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm craving a cheeseburger."  
  
I'll bet. "All right. Cheeseburgers it is." I knew what she wanted the cheeseburger.  
  
We drove and arrived at a small restaurant. We sat down and got our food. I watched her dig into the cheeseburger and she put it down as she noticed me watching her.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Uh oh. Her eyes got serious. She's going to tell me something.  
  
"Vaughn, I need to tell you something.I've thought about you proposing to me, and I've decided.to say yes."  
  
I felt my eyes light up. "Really?"  
  
She smiled. "Really."  
  
"Then I guess I can give you this." I pulled the engagement ring that I had bought from my coat pocket. I slipped it on her finger.  
  
She smiled. "We should get back."  
  
"Yeah," I agreed.  
  
"Hang on," she ordered another cheeseburger, to go. "For later. In case I get hungry."  
  
I'm sure that I had an odd look on my face, but I shook it off. She got the burger and started to get up.  
  
"Don't leave without me," I said teasingly.  
  
"I wouldn't dare," she said with a smile.  
  
***  
  
Sydney's POV  
  
I handed Sark his burger through the hole in the cell.  
  
"Thanks," he smiled.  
  
"No problem," I said as he bit into it.  
  
"Kendall wants me to debrief you."  
  
"After this."  
  
"In about an hour. Someone will escort you upstairs."  
  
"All right."  
  
I turned and left.  
  
"I told him," I said to my father.  
  
"And you think he'll cooperate with us?"  
  
"Yes, I'm pretty sure."  
  
"All right. You're in charge of this. We'll be there, in case."  
  
"Dad?" I took a deep breath. "Vaughn asked me to marry him."  
  
"And?" he asked expectantly.  
  
"I said yes."  
  
"Good," he said with what I thought was an actual smile. "Because I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
Okay, you've reached the author's notes at the end. If you haven't found out yet, Abbie (Weiss's girlfriend, sort of) is none other than my editor and would like nothing more to see herself hook up with Weiss. I'd like your opinions on that. I'd also like some ideas for future events (hopefully with Syd/Sark, although with Syd and Vaughn's engagement, how that's going to work is beyond me, but oh well.) Anyway, ideas are appreciated, and so are reviews, so please review and if you have any ideas, please send them to lab60014@owc.net  
  
Thanks! 


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